[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/stray.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / stray

[← S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/S/)

# stray

«stray» in Mova's school dictionary: **a pet like a dog or cat that is lost or has no home** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (a stray dog); noun (a stray, strays); verb (stray, strays, strayed, straying)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A stray animal is a pet like a dog or cat that is lost or has no home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#m1)

2) A stray is such a lost or homeless animal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#m2)

3) To stray is to wander away from where you should be, like straying from a path. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#m3)

4) Stray can describe one thing that is away from the others, like a stray hair or a stray sock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#m4)

5) A stray shot is a bullet or shot that goes wide of its target and hits something by accident. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In safety lessons: do not touch stray dogs; tell an adult, because a stray may be scared or ill and could bite. In stories and walks: «Do not stray from the path». In everyday life, a stray ball or stray sock is one in the wrong place. Phrases: «stray from», «stray cat», «stray thought».

### examples

- A stray dog followed us home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x1)
- Animal shelters look after strays. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x2)
- Don't stray from the path in the woods. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x3)
- The sheep had strayed into the road. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x4)
- She brushed a stray hair off her face. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x5)
- I found a stray sock under the bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x6)
- Never stroke a stray cat; it might scratch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x7)
- Another's stray shot had killed the deer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: «strayed». Stray is an adjective, a noun and a verb, so look at its place in the sentence. Do not confuse with «spray» or «straw». Safety: keep away from unknown animals.

### In the corpora

- [Donkeys, llamas and sheepdogs are used to guard flocks, and a guard donkey will chase away foxes and stray dogs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/211-sheep-and-goats-wool-flocks-climbers-and-the-tin-can-myth/15/)
- [Read this: «Nell found the stray kitten behind the bins.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/22-reading-a-story-characters-plot-and-setting/1/)
- [On what part will ye yet be stricken, seeing ye stray away more and more?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.4/)
- [The man that strayeth out of the way of understanding shall rest in the congregation of the shades.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/PRO.604/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «stray» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stray/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.